


To Catch a Butterfly's Heart

by Doxilline_Alien



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Leafwing is her oc, Lorelyn is big gay, Tags and rating may change as i write, This is for my friend Autumn hehe, and i love her, i keep finding typos jesus, im writing and proof reading by myself, shes so pretty, they're girlfriends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2020-11-28 14:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20968223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doxilline_Alien/pseuds/Doxilline_Alien
Summary: Greenpath holds many challenges, and to Lorelyn, they're easy enough. But when her own heart becomes an obstacle, and a pretty butterfly catches her eye...





	1. Her Wings As They Shimmered

**Author's Note:**

> For my friend, Autumn! She's @ask-leafwing-ribbon-arya on tumblr!

Another Husk dropped to her nail. The infection that bled from their shells stained the pale, cold metal.  
She turned her dark eyes towards the thick foliage, taking in the view of the blossoms, and the light that filtered through.  
Her red shell was is deep contrast of the green around her, creating an easily seen target. She didn’t mind. 

Lorelyn used her nail to shove away the foliage, and stepped through the stone archway. She took a quick glance about, surveying the area. A couple of husks, not a hard fight. She raised the pale nail.  
They fell, their final groans of pain before the light of the infection faded from their eyes.  
She turned and scanned the walls of her new area. 

Leaves. Leaves. Flowers. More leaves. A wooden door. Leaves. Flowers.  
Wait- a door?  
She did a double-take, staring. That was new, not often did she find a random door in the wild.  
Well. If she did, she often didn’t remember. 

She stepped over and wrapped her hand around the handle- then stopped. Something chimed in her mind. ‘You are not alone in this world… Someone could live here…’  
Yes. Yes, she couldn’t be the only living thing. Maybe someone WAS here.  
Lorelyn stepped back, and gently rapped her knuckle against the center of the door. She heard the sound echo, and hold, sour, in the air.

She raised the nail that was at her side, prepared to break down the door.  
If no one answered it, of course.  
But someone did! She dropped the nail to her shell and perked up as she heard the door creak open just a tiny bit, and a scared voice called out. 

“H-hello…?” The door was pushed open a little, and a bug peeked out. Golden hair draped across her face and framed the worried and afraid look. Lorelyn stared for a moment...  
They made eye contact, and the bug looked increasingly worried.

“Uh. Hi.” Lorelyn waved a hand to the bug.  
She seemed relieved and exhaled softly, before opening the door a bit more. She was tall- among many things, but tall was the first thing that came to mind with the torrent of many other ways to describe this bug.  
“Oh thank goodness… Hello.” She bowed her head. Lorelyn blinked at her. An awkward silence settled in the air. 

“I’m Lorelyn.” She held out a hand. The bug squinted at her hand, then at her…  
Then reached and took her hand for a little shake.  
“Leafwing… I’m called Leafwing. Are you a traveler?”  
Lorelyn nodded. “You could call it that. I would say Wanderer.”

The other bug stepped out of her house and- Lorelyn couldn’t help but stare.  
The light lit up her beautiful face and her wings shimmered and glowed. 

Leafwing glanced nervously about the little clearing, then relaxed, seeing all the husks and infected creatures gone or slain.  
“Did you do this?”  
Lorelyn followed her gaze, towards all the corpses. “Yeah, I wanted to make this area safe.” 

She stared around in the clearing for a moment, before she felt gentle arms wrap around her and Leafwing squeal in delight.  
“Thank you! Thank you so much! I haven’t been able to leave for so long!”  
A deep warmth filled her shell, almost burning against where Leafwing touched her.  
Contact. Gentle, thankful, good contact. When Leafwing let go, she wanted to immediately throw herself back into her arms. 

However, She just nodded. A quiet, simple gesture that brought a gentle giggle from Leafwing.  
Silence settled. 

Lorelyn started to turn to leave. Why was she here again? Leafwing jumped forward, grabbing her shoulder. “Wait! Please, come in, I haven’t had a visitor in so long, and I must repay you for making this place safe again!”  
Lorelyn heard the tiniest bit of sorrow in her statement. She gave her a simple nod.

Her wings fluttered a bit, shining a green glow in the area around them, and she led Lorelyn into the door. 

It was a cozy little house, with floors worn, showing ages of pacing, and loneliness hanging in the air. She looked about, trying to place just how long this butterfly had been alone.  
Leafwing shuffled past her, and fluttered her wings more.  
“Would you like something to drink? Water, tea, juice, anything?” The tall butterfly clasped her hands together…  
So much hope shined in her eyes. Lorelyn wanted that hope to stay there.  
She shook her head. “I’m good, thank you.”  
Leafwing shrugged a bit, then fluttered over to some seats.  
“Here! Rest! I’d love to hear about your travels!” She giggled a bit. Lorelyn took a seat on a little padded stool, thinking to herself. 

Leafwing dragged a stool over to sit across from her.  
There was a moment.  
Leafwing cleared her throat. “So uh… Where have you gone? Just around Hollownest?”  
Lorelyn tilted her head.  
“I’ve been all around the world.” She chuckled a bit. “I guess I could tell you about the ones I remember.” 

Her eyes glittered, and shone with curiosity. Lorelyn felt warm in her shell. 

She launched into what she knew. What she remembered to be true. 

Stories of glittering cities in the sky, surrounded by lumaflies and singing fliers... Shores frozen with snow and ice with a chill so deep it would freeze shells to grounds... Dark places, filled with fossils and black, void-like water… Places where the air seemed like cotton, and strings filled lungs…  
She told her as much as she remembered. Then More.  
“I’ve explored nearly all of Hollownest. So far, My favorite places have been the City, The Resting grounds and Greenpath.” She chuckled to herself. 

Leafwing leaned forward. “Have you been to the Queen’s gardens?” An unexpected, but not surprising question.  
Lorelyn didn’t even know there was a queen to begin with, though she did see that weird bug with a fork for a head everywhere. Maybe she was the queen. Pretty. 

“Uh.” She looked at her feet for a second. Her antenna flicked in a way.  
“I think so? I remember… Maybe as a kid? I remember visiting a place like greenpath.” She laughed. “But of course, my memory is the worst in hollownest!” 

Leafwing chuckled a bit with her. She had moved over so close…  
Lorelyn yawned, suddenly. Leafwing blinked. “Ah… It is getting late. You should rest, yeah?”  
She nodded, then stood.  
“I’ll be back again though, Don’t worry.” She reached and gently pat the butterfly on the shoulder.  
That was a promise. Leafwing nodded to her. 

“Safe travels.” 

…

Lorelyn always found hollownest to be cold. To sting at her shell with many things.  
But for once, as she walked to find her little camp once again, her shell didn’t sting. A deep pull, the will to protect… It made her warm. 

She decided… She could make Greenpath safe. To give Leafwing that safety.  
That would Protect her.


	2. To Her, A Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her gift to the butterfly, as hearts bind and barriers fall

Lorelyn stayed in Greenpath a lot longer than she expected. She wandered about, and “took care of” any husk or infected creature she saw.   
That butterfly kept coming back to mind. The urge to protect her, and keep that hope in her eyes…  
She told herself, over and over of her gift. She would make this place as safe as possible for the butterfly.   
Lorelyn was going back to her house. To say hello, and catch up with her. She had been away for a week, working at clearing the infection. 

She stared at the door, thinking. Would Leafwing want to see her again? Or did she even remember her? 

Well. It would be time to see.   
She hit her knuckle against the door a few times and stepped back.   
She had a habit of counting, she noticed at this moment. She counted 3 knocks, and 6 seconds before the door was opened. 

Leafwing peered out at her, then gasped softly. Lorelyn could see her wings fluttering behind her. “Lorelyn!”   
Her heart swelled as Leafwing fluttered out and wrapped her warm arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re back!” Her kind voice held so much joy! It made her shell feel like it was full of lumaflies...  
Lorelyn hugged her back for that moment, then chuckled. “Well. I promised I would come back…”   
Leafwing giggled and opened the door wide enough for both of them. “Come in Come in!” 

Lorelyn gazed around as she stepped in. Leafwing had cleaned up a bit since she was last here… How nice.   
She gazed back at Leafwing as she shut the door and stepped in.   
“Here, take a seat. You look like you’ve been run ragged!”   
She looked down at her shell. Lorelyn noted more bumps, more scrapes, and dents. Dirt clung to her shell, dulling its brilliant ruby color.   
After a moment she looked back to Leafwing, before sitting at one of the chairs in the living room. She watched dirt flake and fall to the ground.   
“Sorry.” She murmured. “I can clean it up.”   
“Don’t worry about it!” Leafwing chuckled, sitting in the chair near her. “I’m just glad you’re back..” Her hand sat gently against her shell.   
Lorelyn sat in comfortable silence for a moment, feeling the warmth of her hand sink into her shell.   
“What have you been up to?” Leafwing asked, breaking the silence as she pulled her hand back to her lap. Lorelyn gazed down at her hands, then to the nail that sat at her hip. 

‘I should tell her.’ She thought. ‘Maybe she’ll be glad to hear it. That’ll make her happy.’

“Wandering. Exploring more of Greenpath…” She sighed out. “Trying to see if anything here will jog my memories.” Her eyes squinted to happy crescents as she looked back at Leafwing. “Working on a gift.” 

Her eyes sparkled- and oh dear gods how Lorelyn loved the way they sparkled. “Oh? F-for me?” 

Lorelyn nodded, giggling quietly. “Remind me to tell you more about it later. For now, I want to hear how you’ve been since I was gone.”   
Leafwing waved her hand flippantly at her. “Oh, There’s not much I can do, not while the infected run around outside... But I’ve been good. Mostly… waiting for you to come back…”   
Her head tilted forward, bringing that golden hair to cover her pretty face. Her hands came to her face, covering the embarrassment. A strange, fullness filled Lorelyn’s shell.   
It made her feel like she could run the earth, all the way back to the places beyond Hallownest and back, to scream and cheer… Her shell felt warm as her soul bubbled with this feeling. Her feet swung under her and she couldn’t help but laugh.   
“That’s so sweet! You waited for me!”   
Leafwing looked over, her face a sweet pink with blush as she laughed with her. “Well, You’ve been the only person I’ve talked to in so long…” 

Lorelyn reached over and pat her hands, chuckling. “Well, that’s still so sweet of you.”

Leafwing gazed at her with a sweet smile.   
“I don’t have anywhere to be, so I could hang out with you for the day.” Lorelyn tilted her head, gazing around the room again. “It could be nice to slow down for a day…” 

The sparkle came back, that hopeful gaze. “You would?” Her voice sounded so happy.   
A small nod from Lorelyn, before she reached and grasped her hand. “I also want to show you something..” 

Leafwing’s face went visibly pink at the contact, but Lorelyn was already leading her out the door at that point. She pushed open the door… and carefully led her out. The clearing around her home was still clear, fully free of infection and danger.   
“W-wait-” Leafwing started as Lorelyn pulled her towards the stone arch that led them out of her grotto.   
Lorelyn glanced over her shoulder but kept going, loosening her grip so if Leafwing tried, she could get back.   
Leafwing’s nervous jitter and pale face soon turned to amazement.   
The giant grotto was free of husks. Free of infection. All that was there was the fluttering maskflies, the glowing lumaflies… the sleeping mosscreeps and the gentle sun. 

“Whoa….” She gasped, gazing around. Lorelyn dropped her hand and stepped forward. 

“I thought you would like it…” She turned, smiling at her. Leafwing surged forward, wrapping her arms around Lorelyn with a laugh and cheer.   
Caught in the joy, Lorelyn put her hands to Leafwing’s waist and lifted her, twisting to twirl her around.   
Leafwing’s joyful laughter, the glittering light… Everything seemed perfect to Lorelyn. 

There was a quiet moment of happiness after she set her down and stared into her eyes.   
“Is this your surprise? The gift?” Leafwing away and gazed around the plant-filled cavern. 

Lorelyn gazed out with her. “I… wanted to make Greenpath safe again. Safe for you. Since you said it’s too dangerous for you to see it all again.”   
Leafwing turned to her, eyed sparkling.   
“I promise, I will get Greenpath to be safe once again.”

Leafwing’s tears of joy and hugs meant the world to her. Everything became a blur as they danced and laughed and explored the cavern…

That night, Leafwing offered her house to let Lorelyn sleep. She accepted, of course, but she couldn’t sleep. Lorelyn just laid on the couch, planning. She had a lot of work to do, and a small amount of time to do it… She would do it for her. For this butterfly who never left her thoughts… Her glittering wings, and eyes that shined so brightly…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did this take so long? Why am I going bug crazy? Tune in to the new Lorelyn Ask Blog @lorelyntradingshop! When will content be posted? ....When I get to it! 
> 
> Love y'all! Stay Fresh!   
Give Autumn some love, because I love her! 
> 
> 💚


	3. In the sun, Red to Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The light sings, her glittering wings catch her eye... Those bright wings...

More husks fell to her blade. The silver metal had an almost orange tint to it now.   
She kept fighting, taking down even the big mossy ones that spit infection bursting balls of grass at her. 

Her hands had grown hard and calloused from years of fighting with them- but her nail was a recent weapon. Found at a giant lake, stuck into the ground between some rocks.   
It’s cold metal bit her hands, stung her eyes when the light of the infection shone off it. 

A husk burst under her nail, infection flying from its body. She flinched back as bright orange painted across her mask.  
Yurgh… , She wiped it from her eyes, shaking herself off.   
This was all worth it, She told herself, Worth it to see Leafwing smile. 

She had found a rhythm. Attack, jump back, block, strike.   
Attack, jump back, block, strike. 

Lorelyn chanted this in every fight until it didn’t work. An infected mossknight blocking her strike and bringing it’s crushing nail down onto her head. A fooleater snapping her leg up. Getting hit in the back by an obble.   
Her shell ached… She was covered in this nasty infection, it made her itch. 

She stared into the dark eyes of a body- one long dead. A nail stuck from its chest. She hadn’t seen this type of bug before- not that she remembered. 

“How many more?”   
A sarcastic question- she never expected an answer. She laughed at herself as she sat back and started rubbing a cloth over her nail.

She never expected an answer.   
“ALMOST…” 

Lorelyn looked up, now on alert. Her eyes trained on the shell before her. 

“YOU DO THIS, FOR WHAT? THE AFFECTION OF A BUTTERFLY?”

Her eyes squinted towards the ceiling of the cave. Something told her this voice was up there. Or maybe in her head.  
“...Yes. I want to impress her.”   
“HOW DO YOU KNOW? HOW DO YOU KNOW SHE WILL APPRECIATE IT?”

Lorelyn gripped her nail. Time to take care of more husks, she decided. Maybe she could ignore this. Leafwing would be impressed, she would appreciate her. 

Her routine fell back into place. Attack, jump, block, strike. Move on and find another.   
Her day continued into this. It became only this.   
She would give Leafwing her home back. 

That night, she slept near the shell. Her eyes stared up at the ceiling.   
Silence gripped her heart... But not her mind.   
“Will she… actually appreciate me? Or just my gift?”   
She asked no one in particular… 

Something… Maybe fear. Fear told her maybe Leafwing would… just forget her after her gift was completed. She would be cast aside as she went back to the life before the infection. 

“WE WILL GIVE YOU THE APPRECIATION YOU WANT.”   
“I don’t want just any… I want hers…” 

Lorelyn’s eyes flooded with tears. She wanted Leafwing’s appreciation. Her affection. She wanted to protect leafwing… She wanted…   
She wanted to love her... 

She would continue tomorrow.   
Her dreams were not as usual… Bright and Blinding. Promising her the strength to finish her gift…

Her technique had gotten brutal. No more jumping away, no more blocking. She figured out with a few days that she could knock her targets off, bursting forward and attacking until they went down.   
She felt sick to her stomach though… Her vision hadn’t cleared away that vague orange glow from her dreams. How strange… 

Lorelyn would visit leafwing soon. Maybe? Hopefully... The voice made her terribly dizzy… 

Another husk fell. Another, another, another. Until she couldn’t find anymore.   
Was she done? Did she finish? 

She couldn’t tell. She needed…  
To see… Those beautiful wings… Yellow and gold…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know. Very late update, I know. But hey! You got it now!


End file.
